Thoughts on question #2

Orwell seems to believe it is difficult, if not actually impossible, to uncover the real truth. While people do not necessarily lie, their information will always be skewed by their perceptions and needs relating to any given event. He gives us an example of this in the British Lady that visits Spain and returns to her country to report that all seemed well. While the woman wasn’t lying, her view was skewed because she only visited the expensive hotels and socialized with the rich, a culture fairly removed from the war. On page 150 Orwell states: “Future historians will have nothing to go upon except a mass of accusations and party propaganda.” His personal opinion is that the facts are heavily over shadowed by politics and thus blurs the truth. In light of his essay “Politics and the English Language” it is easy to see that Orwell believes that political writing is completely lacking in truth due to the language use and the needs of the party. Orwell gives examples of this through out chapter 11. Lastly, Orwell admits that even he cannot be completely honest because he too is biased and swayed by his involvement in the war. On page 159: “I have tried to write objectively about the Barcelona fighting, though, obviously, no one can be completely objective on a question of this kind.” And on page 160: “I warn everyone against by bias, and I warn everyone against my mistakes. Still, I have done my best to be honest.” Orwell believes that a man can be more truthful with effort, but that his bias can never be completely removed. For one, you can only report what you have seen or heard yourself and for two we are creatures of emotional involvement that influences our views and perceptions.

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One thought on “Thoughts on question #2”

This is one of the reasons I’ve appreciated Orwell as much as I have even though I haven’t read him extensively. I began with 1984 and later read Animal Farm, which in turn lead to a brief investigation into the man. I think in many ways his insight on bias and his quest for truth was a major part of my development regarding communication and how I approach life as a whole.